Animation in Belgium
Belgium is a fertile ground for animation and its producers are active partners on the international market, helping to coproduce and co-fund numerous animated shorts, series and feature films every year.
Active in coproduction
Owing in part to its geographical links as well as its multiple sources of public funding from the government, Belgium is viewed as a strong coproduction partner by companies throughout Europe.
Benelux, the politico-economic treaty between neighbouring states Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, remains as a strong union and results in frequent collaboration between animation production companies in the three countries. Belgium also has close links with France and the two countries are common coproducers on features, such as Panique au Village.
Belgian companies are often minority coproducers on projects, meaning they put forward some funding for a TV series or feature film, but do not tend to contribute the most towards a single project. As a result, Belgian producers are often involved in high-profile projects that involve many financial partners, such as the animated feature Where Is Anne Frank?
Effective funding tools
Belgium has one of Europe’s most effective funding mechanisms for audiovisual production via its Tax Shelter, which has in recent years become more accessible to animation producers. The Tax Shelter can provide additional funding up to 25-30% of the total qualifying expenses in the European Economic Area.
Meanwhile, the country’s three regions – Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia – all have funds dedicated to production, including The Flemish Audiovisual Fund, Screen Flanders, Wallimage and Bruxellesimage. However, none of these funds are dedicated to animation production and the majority of funding tends to be attributed to live action series and features.
Helpfully, Beglium’s public and private broadcasters are also obliged to invest in independent production, either by coproducing or via pre-sales. This then allows local producers to access the subsidies on offer. As the amount these broadcasters are able to contribute is only relatively low – in the region of €80-€100,000 per series – a fund is available to Belgian producers that will multiply the amount contributed by a broadcaster by five times.
However, the fund is not large enough to be divided between each of the relatively few local producers generating concepts for TV series and feature films in Belgium. Therefore competition to receive funding for projects is incredibly high.
Lack of original IP development
Due to the strong focus on coproductions in Belgium, local producers are often busy on projects that have originated outside of the country, such as Picnic With Cake, which is a copro with the Netherlands, or Polish-Spanish feature Another Day of Life. This provides work for the regular influx of new talent that the country’s numerous animation schools provide, with the majority of animation work in Belgium being done on feature films. The country also has a strong reputation for short films produced in a range of animation styles.
Original development does occur in studios – with series for children such as Fox & Hare and Dimitri reaching the international market as European coproductions – however many local producers are often unable to commit the necessary funding to develop their own IP.
The range of funding sources available to Belgian producers make them the envy of European countries with fewer financing options available. However, the country could potentially export more of its own animated content if the numerous financial sources local producers are currently able to tap into were deepened.
Belgium is a fertile ground for animation and its producers are active partners on the international market, helping to coproduce and co-fund numerous animated shorts, series and feature films every year.
Active in coproduction
Owing in part to its geographical links as well as its multiple sources of public funding from the government, Belgium is viewed as a strong coproduction partner by companies throughout Europe.
Benelux, the politico-economic treaty between neighbouring states Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, remains as a strong union and results in frequent collaboration between animation production companies in the three countries. Belgium also has close links with France and the two countries are common coproducers on features, such as Panique au Village.
Belgian companies are often minority coproducers on projects, meaning they put forward some funding for a TV series or feature film, but do not tend to contribute the most towards a single project. As a result, Belgian producers are often involved in high-profile projects that involve many financial partners, such as the animated feature Where Is Anne Frank?
Effective funding tools
Belgium has one of Europe’s most effective funding mechanisms for audiovisual production via its Tax Shelter, which has in recent years become more accessible to animation producers. The Tax Shelter can provide additional funding up to 25-30% of the total qualifying expenses in the European Economic Area.
Meanwhile, the country’s three regions – Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia – all have funds dedicated to production, including The Flemish Audiovisual Fund, Screen Flanders, Wallimage and Bruxellesimage. However, none of these funds are dedicated to animation production and the majority of funding tends to be attributed to live action series and features.
Helpfully, Beglium’s public and private broadcasters are also obliged to invest in independent production, either by coproducing or via pre-sales. This then allows local producers to access the subsidies on offer. As the amount these broadcasters are able to contribute is only relatively low – in the region of €80-€100,000 per series – a fund is available to Belgian producers that will multiply the amount contributed by a broadcaster by five times.
However, the fund is not large enough to be divided between each of the relatively few local producers generating concepts for TV series and feature films in Belgium. Therefore competition to receive funding for projects is incredibly high.
Lack of original IP development
Due to the strong focus on coproductions in Belgium, local producers are often busy on projects that have originated outside of the country, such as Picnic With Cake, which is a copro with the Netherlands, or Polish-Spanish feature Another Day of Life. This provides work for the regular influx of new talent that the country’s numerous animation schools provide, with the majority of animation work in Belgium being done on feature films. The country also has a strong reputation for short films produced in a range of animation styles.
Original development does occur in studios – with series for children such as Fox & Hare and Dimitri reaching the international market as European coproductions – however many local producers are often unable to commit the necessary funding to develop their own IP.
The range of funding sources available to Belgian producers make them the envy of European countries with fewer financing options available. However, the country could potentially export more of its own animated content if the numerous financial sources local producers are currently able to tap into were deepened.
VOFTP
VOFTP’s goal is to promote the economic and commercial interests of Flemish independent film and television producers. We realize this objective by informing our members about legal and business developments in the audiovisual sector and involving them wherever necessary.
VOFTP is the spokes-organisation for the Flemish independent television and movie production sector to a wide range of players in the field such as broadcasters, the press, stakeholders in the media sector, research institutions, government institutions, advisory bodies and employers and employee organizations. We put our best efforts into making these participants aware of the importance and economic strength of our members and their challenges in an ever-evolving audiovisual ecosystem.
Last, but not least, we are a think tank which vigorously discusses all current affairs regarding the sector and we offer our members a forum to arrive at a mutual consensus to collectively defend this point of view. We draft legal guidelines and standard agreements for our members and collect economic statistics about the sector.
Who are our members?
VOFTP represents a wide variety of Flemish production companies committed to producing many different genres (fiction, entertainment, animation and so on).
VOFTP currently comprises of 32 production company members.
VOFTP’s goal is to promote the economic and commercial interests of Flemish independent film and television producers. We realize this objective by informing our members about legal and business developments in the audiovisual sector and involving them wherever necessary.
VOFTP is the spokes-organisation for the Flemish independent television and movie production sector to a wide range of players in the field such as broadcasters, the press, stakeholders in the media sector, research institutions, government institutions, advisory bodies and employers and employee organizations. We put our best efforts into making these participants aware of the importance and economic strength of our members and their challenges in an ever-evolving audiovisual ecosystem.
Last, but not least, we are a think tank which vigorously discusses all current affairs regarding the sector and we offer our members a forum to arrive at a mutual consensus to collectively defend this point of view. We draft legal guidelines and standard agreements for our members and collect economic statistics about the sector.
Who are our members?
VOFTP represents a wide variety of Flemish production companies committed to producing many different genres (fiction, entertainment, animation and so on).
VOFTP currently comprises of 32 production company members.